Minneapolis

Bells of the North

Bells of the North
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There’s always a surprise or two every time I walk on Nicollet Avenue. Today was no different. Who knew I’d witness Morris dancers celebrating May Day and the onset of spring—a 500 year-old folk tradition from England that has roots here in Minnesota. With bells strapped to their shins, the Bells of the North enthusiastically sang, danced and clacked sticks along with accordion music to mark the change of the seasons. A pleasant surprise, to be sure. And even more so when I learned my coworker’s mother-in-law is a member of the The Bells, which was founded in 1979!

See a photo gallery from Minnesota Public Radio. See below for a video clip from last year.

May 2nd, 2012|Minneapolis, People|Comments Off on Bells of the North
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walkING

ING Reliastar, Minneapolis
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I hoofed it up Hennepin Ave to catch the setting sun on the ING Reliastar building.

Readers: What’s your favorite Twin Cities architectural landmark? I have several on my list, but am keen to hear some ideas for future photo fodder.

ING Reliastar, Minneapolis

April 30th, 2012|Minneapolis|Comments Off on walkING
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Rainy Run

Rainy day in Minneapolis
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This morning I ran a 10K in rainy, 45 degree weather. The race followed the Mississippi River, with half the route in Minneapolis and the other half in St. Paul. It was a fun run, though May better bring warmer weather. After a post race breakfast at Turtle Bread Company, I ran through the skyways to buy, what else, a raincoat.

April 28th, 2012|Minneapolis|Comments Off on Rainy Run
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Gaviidae Common

Gaviidae Common, Minneapolis
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Gaviidae Common is a shopping center in downtown Minneapolis anchored by Neiman Marcus and Saks Off Fifth. The complex is spread over two city blocks and is built on the former site of the Donaldson’s department store. The “State Fare” food court is home to the single McDonald’s in downtown Minneapolis. It’s fine when I have a lunchtime craving, but doesn’t even come close to the revamped McDonald’s designs with the yellow brow arch. I miss the food and crew at “the Arch” on the corporate campus!

Gaviidae Common

April 28th, 2012|Minneapolis|Comments Off on Gaviidae Common
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Social Sciences

Social Sciences building, University of Minnesota
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The Social Sciences building on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota isn’t that notable. But when I did visit that building during my college years, it was for notably nerdy reasons. With a student body of 51,000+ students, I was determined to make my college experience as personalized as possible. After all, I graduated from a high school class of 51.

Aside from obvious things like attending class and studying the course material, I nearly always sat in the second row of auditorium classes. And I always made a point to attend the professor’s and TA’s office hours at least several times a semester. It’s the best kept secret to getting more out of your college education. Professors are required by the university to hold office hours, and very few students attend them. But I sure did! This building played an integral (pun intended) role in learning calculus and economics outside the classroom.

April 27th, 2012|Minneapolis|Comments Off on Social Sciences
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Perspective

Downtown Minneapolis - near Loring Park
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Here’s a view near my apartment. You’ve seen bits and pieces over the past couple months like the clock at St. Thomas and reflections outside their School of Law, the blue and gold exterior of LaSalle Plaza, the Fast Print shop, and the Skyline Aquarium. My aunt works in the Cappella Tower, the skyscraper in the center with the halo. I work in Target Plaza, the tall building to the right. There are two towers, and mine is actually the shorter 14-story building to the immediate left. You can see the 13th and 14th floors peeking out at the top. What you can’t see is the downtown store on Nicollet Ave. where I do Target runs several times a week.

April 26th, 2012|Minneapolis|Comments Off on Perspective
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Shoe Tree

Shoe Tree, University of Minnesota
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If you look closely on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota, you’ll find trees bearing strange fruit near the Washington Avenue bridge. The tree branches are loaded with shoes–maybe a couple hundred. Although I was a campus tour guide for four years, trips to the West Bank were rare, so the folklore behind this campus tradition was not part of our script. It’s just as well. Theories abound, but no one really knows when or why the shoe tree started. It’s quirky and fun. It’s just something students do.
Shoe tree, University of Minnesota

April 24th, 2012|Minneapolis|Comments Off on Shoe Tree
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Crack Stacks

Riverside Plaza
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Residents of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood are ethnically diverse, many of whom currently are immigrants from Northeast Africa and Somalia. The 39-story Riverside Plaza apartment building (one of six buildings) stands out next to I-94 and I-35 and not necessarily in a good way. While the panels were recently upgraded to the original palette of primary colors, I’m not a fan of modernist and brutalist architecture.

I lived on the West Bank during my first two years of college, and we often referred to the buildings as the “Crack Stacks” or “Ghetto in the Sky,” likely for reasons more imagined than real. Today, it’s earned the nickname of “Little Somalia” or “Little Mogadishu.” For a farm boy fresh to the big city, this stretch of Cedar Avenue was a curious contrast in diversity, compared to my hometown. In the fall of ’99, I walked down the street once, and ever since, it’s been a drive-by experience to connect with I-94 or Hwy 55. After a decade plus of city living, life experiences, and world travel, it hardly seems intimidating anymore. There’s a lot of history in this area, and maybe this will be my year to explore it.

April 19th, 2012|Minneapolis|1 Comment
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Foshay

Foshay Tower, Minneapolis
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In 10-foot tall letters, the Foshay Tower still proudly glows among the Minneapolis skyscrapers. Built in 1929, it was the first skyscraper built west of the Mississippi and remained the tallest building in Minneapolis through 1971.

April 17th, 2012|Minneapolis|Comments Off on Foshay
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Goldy’s Run

Goldy's Run
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I woke up at 5:30am on a Saturday. Voluntarily. Today was Goldy’s Run, a 10 mile course along the Mississippi River on East River Road and West River Parkway with a finish in the Minnesota Gophers TCF Bank Stadium.

While snacking on Nutella on bread, I did some stretching and had a little dance off to Good Feeling by Flo Rida. Thou would think I was auditioning for a Will Ferrell movie on dancing. Thou might even have been awestruck by my arm flailing. But Thou weren’t there.

It was a beautiful day for a run, and I finished in good time. Of the couple thousand people there, I didn’t find my two college friends who ran the 5K, but surprisingly ran into a friend from work and we celebrated with a stop at BW3’s at 10:30am.

In the afternoon, I helped and learned how to install fiberglass insulation in my buddy’s garage in Shakopee. In case you are wondering, I actually did work, but did stop for two minutes to take photos. The night ended in Uptown visiting with five college friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in nearly nine years. What a day it’s been!

Garage insulation

April 15th, 2012|Minneapolis|Comments Off on Goldy’s Run
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